r History of 
Sunday Schools 



CUNNVNGHHM 



j LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 

®^tjt. Sopijrig|t ]f o, 

Shett.CliB 



UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 



THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

Its Origin, History, Organization, Methods 

of Teaching, Government, 

Statistics, etc. 



BY W. Q. E. CUNNYNGHAM, D.D. 

EIGHTEEN YEARS SUNDAY-SCHOOL EDITOR, M. K. CHURCH, SOUTH. 



REVISED EDITION. 



AUG 29 189S 



' t 



or 



4*1 



Nashville, Tenn.: 

Publishing House of the M. E. Church, South. 

Barbee & Smith, Agents. 

1895. 



<* Co NRRRss 



S "»T,)V 



PREFACE. 



Some years ago, the author prepared a small 
volume on " The Sunday-school : Its Origin, His- 
tory, Methods of Teaching," etc. A new edition 
being called for, he has improved the opportunity 
to revise and enlarge it, and now sends it forth, 
with the hope that it will prove much more satis- 
factory than the former edition. The chapters 
added are on "Organization, Management, and 
Work;" "The Pastor's Place in the Sunday- 
school;" "The Superintendent;" "Management 
of the Sunday-school;" "The Sunday-school 
Teacher;" "Suggestions to Sunday-school Teach- 
ers;" "The Secretary, Librarian, and Treasurer;" 
" Sunday-school Music, Catechisms, Statistics," etc. 

W. G. E. C. 

Nashville, Tenn., November, 189£. 

(2) 



CONTENTS. 

PART FIRST. 

Chapter I. PAGE 

The Ancient Bible School 5 

Chapter II. 
The Modern Sunday-school 15 

Chapter III. 
Early Methods of Teaching 38 

Chapter IV. 
The International Lesson System 45 

Chapter V. 
Sunday-school Literature 57 

PART SECOND. 
Chapter I. 

Organization, Management, and Work 69 

Chapter II. 

The Pastor's Place in the Sunday-school 72 

Chapter III. 

The Superintendent , 82 

(3) 



4 CONTENTS. 

Chapter IV. 
Management of the Sunday-school 87 

Chapter V. 
The Sunday-school Teacher 95 

Chapter VI. 
Suggestions to Sunday-school Teachers 100 

Chapter VII. 

Secretary, Librarian, and Treasurer 105 

Chapter VIII. 
Sunday-school Music, Catechism, Statistics, etc. 108 



THE SUNDAY-SOHOOL, 



PART FIRST. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE ANCIENT BIBLE-SCHOOL. 



Bible-schools, where children and young 
people were instructed in the knowledge 
of God's word, have existed from a very ear- 
ly day in the history of the Church. They 
have been called " Sunday-schools." This they 
were not, except in an accommodated sense. 
The term Sunday-school is a modern invention, 
and designates a modern institution, so well 
known as to need no special description here. 
The catechetical Bible-schools of the early 
Church had for their object and end the same 
idea that now underlies the modern Sunday- 
school and its methods, and in so far we 
can say they are alike ; and in tracing the 

(5) 



b THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

history of the Sunday-school idea, therefore, 
we may go back to the beginning. This we 
propose to do in this Chapter, as preliminary 
to the discussion of the modern Sunday-school 
movement. 

The primary purpose of the early Bible- 
schools, as also of the modern Sunday-school, 
is the religious education of the young. When 
these schools were first instituted is unknown. 
Jewish tradition furnishes some curious in- 
formation concerning them* The rabbis tell 
us that Methuselah was a teacher of the 
Mishna (a collection of traditions) before 
• the flood, and that after the flood Shem and 
Eber had a house or school of instruction ; 
that Abraham was a student of one of the 
sacred books at three years of age; that he 
was afterward under the instruction of Mel- 
chizedek in matters concerning the priest- 
hood ; that young Jacob as a good boy went 
to the Bible-school, while Esau was a bad 

* See Dr. Trumbull's " Yale Lectures." 



THE ANCIENT BIBLE-SCHOOL. 7 

boy and would not go ; that Dinah got into 
trouble because she refused to go with her 
brothers to the Bible-school; that Moses 
taught a Bible-school, and that Jethro and 
young Joshua were pupils of his. The same 
authority states that King Ahaz had all the 
Bible-schools for children closed throughout 
the land in order to destroy the religion of 
Moses; while, on the other hand, good King 
Hezekiah was a great friend to the Bible- 
schools, and used to go with his children to 
see that they were properly taught, etc. 

Enough of Jewish traditions. The chief 
value of these traditions lies in the fact that 
they indicate the early existence of schools 
for the religious training of children. 

Josephus asserts that from the days of Mo- 
ses down to his day it was customary for the 
Jews to assemble in their synagogues every 
Sabbath, to learn the law as it was taught by 
the rabbi ; and that every Jew thus trained 
was so familiar with the laws that he could 



8 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

more easily repeat them than he could repeat 
his own name. Philo affirms that the syna- 
gogues of the Jews were really " schools of 
instruction/' and that by their agency the 
young people were thoroughly acquainted 
with the law.* 

There is reason to believe that Bible-schools 
were common throughout Palestine, in con- 
nection with the synagogues, at the begin- 
ning of the Christian era. Dr. Trumbull, in 
his " Yale Lectures," furnishes evidence from 
reliable Jewish authorities that such was the 
case, and that in their essential features 
these schools resembled our modern Sunday- 
schools. "From five to ten years of age 
the Jewish child was to study in these 
schools the Bible text only." Afterward 
he was instructed in what corresponds 
to our catechisms, commentaries, and lesson 
helps. 

Such was the Bible-school system in Pales- 

* Trumbull. 



THE ANCIENT BIBLE-SCHOOL. \) 

tine at the time of our Lord's birth, and we 
may suppose that he was brought up like 
other Jewish children ; that he attended the 
Bible-school at .Nazareth ; that he there mem- 
orized the words of the Scriptures which he 
so often quoted afterward in his public min- 
istry; and that it was in this school he ac- 
quired the knowledge of the Scriptures which 
so astonished the doctors of the law with 
whom he conversed in the temple when only 
twelve years old. TVnile he was the Son of 
God, and was therefore equal with God in his 
divine nature, he was also the Son of man, 
and in his human nature conformed to all 
the laws and conditions governing man, phys- 
ically and intellectually, so that he " increased 
in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God 
and man." 

It is not unreasonable to suppose that our 
Lord was, in his childhood, a pupil in the 
Jewish Sabbath-school at Nazareth, and that 
he afterward became a teacher in the same 



10 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

school. He is called a teacher, and the evan- 
gelists distinguish between the "teaching" 
and the "preaching" of our Lord* 

Whatever may be gathered from Jewish 
traditions or history concerning the Bible- 
schools, we are assured that God has provid- 
ed in all ages for the religious training of the 
children. The Bible abounds with injunc- 
tions to teach the laws of God to the young; 
and when God would give his reasons for se- 
lecting Abraham as his special agent for a 
great work, he says : " For I know him, that 
he will command his children and his house- 
hold after him, and they shall keep the way 
of the Lord, to do justice and judgment." 
(Gen. xviii. 19.) Moses said: "These words, 
which I command thee this day, shall be in 
thine heart ; and thou shalt teach them dili- 
gently unto thy children." (Deut. vi. 6, 7.) 
See also Psalm lxxviii. 5, 6 ; Acts ii. 38, 39 ; 
Ephesians vi. 1-4; Colossians iii. 20, 21. We 

* Trumbull's " Lectures." 



THE ANCIENT BIBLE-SCHOOL. 11 

need add no explanation or exhortation to 
these words of holy Scripture. They are ex- 
plicit as to the duty of training children in 
the knowledge of God's word, and abundant- 
ly authorize and enjoin all that the ancient 
Bible-school and the modern Sunday-school 
embrace in their curriculum. Mosheim, in 
his "History of the Church," says: "The 
Christians of the first century took all pos- 
sible care to accustom their children to the 
study of the Scriptures, and to instruct them 
in the doctrines of their holy religion ; and 
schools were everywhere created for this pur- 
pose, even from the very commencement of 
the Christian Church." 

As it was impossible for the pastors to 
teach all the youth of their charges without 
assistance, they appointed deacons and other 
suitable persons to this work. They were 
called " catechists," and those whom they in- 
structed were called " catechumens," from a 
Greek word which means to instruct orally. 



12 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

The word is found in Luke i. 4, Acts xviii. 
25, and other places in the New Testament. 
From it we get our word " catechism." The 
catechetical instruction consisted chiefly of 
expositions of the Lord's Prayer, the Ten 
Commandments, and some creed or confes- 
sion of faith. Buildings were erected in 
which the pupils assembled for instruction, 
and were the Sunday-school rooms of that 
day. The cateehists were the teachers of 
these primitive Sunday-schools.* 

The Waldenses carefully instructed their 
children in the principles of the Christian re- 
ligion. So also the Albigenses, the Lollards, 
the Bohemian Brethren ; and, in fact, all who 
maintained the faith of the gospel with any 
degree of purity adhered closely to the cate- 
chetical instruction of the children. 

In the ages of apostasy, which finally cul- 
minated in what is known in ecclesiastical 

* See Dr. Summers's " Sunday-school Teacher," an ex- 
cellent little hook. 



THE ANCIENT BIBLE-SCHOOL. 13 

history as " the dark ages," the religious edu- 
cation of the children was almost entirely 
neglected. They were permitted to grow up 
in ignorance, superstition, and vice. In some 
places, it is true, the use of the catechism was 
not entirely omitted, and in those places some- 
thing like the "form of godliness" was pre- 
served. 

The Reformers of the sixteenth century re- 
vived the catechetical methods of the early 
Church, and much was said and written by 
them on the subject of the religious training 
of children. Luther said : " Next to preach- 
ing, teaching is the greatest and best and 
most useful vocation; and I am not quite 
sure which is the better; for it is hard to re- 
form old sinners, with whom the preacher 
has to do, while the young can be made to 
bend without breaking." Under his influ- 
ence the Scriptures, catechisms, prayers, and 
sacred music were introduced into all the 
secular schools of Saxony. Sunday-schools 



14 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

were also established under the immediate 
care of day-school teachers. The pastors were 
required to be present as superintendents. 
They catechised the children regularly, and 
instructed them in the Scriptures.* 

Thus the way was prepared gradually for 
the revival of the Bible-school and its devel- 
opment into the modern Sunday-school, as re- 
lated in the following pages. The names of 
Luther, Zinzendorf, Wesley, and Eaikes are 
the links in the chain that connects the an- 
cient with the modern Sunday-school. 

*See Dr. Summers's " Sunday-school Teacher." 



CHAPTER II. 
THE MODERN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 



I. ITS ORIGIN. 

The modern Sunday school movement orig- 
inated in the latter part of the eighteenth 
century, almost contemporaneously with the 
modern missionary movement. The same 
divine impulse that moved the Church to or- 
ganize societies for the propagation of the 
gospel in foreign lands prompted also the or- 
ganization of Sunday-schools for the moral 
and religious education of the ignorant and 
neglected children of Christian countries. 
The first Sunday-schools were missionary in 
their character and method, being designed 
exclusively for the neglected children of the 
poor. They were not, as now, a part of reg- 
ular Church work, but dependent upon the 
benevolent enterprise and supervision of in- 
dividual men and women who -felt called to 

(15) 



16 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

the work by the Spirit and providence of 
God. "The children were taught reading, 
writing, and the catechism." The teachers 
were paid a small sum for their services, as 
in the secular schools, the object being to 
furnish the children the means of a limited 
elementary education, and at the same time 
reform their morals and instruct them in the 
truths of the Christian religion. There were 
no free public schools at that day either in En- 
gland or America. The education of the la- 
boring classes in England and throughout 
Europe was almost entirely neglected during 
the early part of the eighteenth century. 

The Church, which has always been the 
school-mistress of the world, had become so in- 
different to the spiritual welfare of the people, 
especially of the lower classes, as to leave them 
without any religious instruction. The pul- 
pit, with here and there an exception, was 
either entirely silent or so weak and frivolous 
as to encourage rather than restrain thepopu- 



THE MODERN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 17 

lar vices of the times. Archbishop Seeker, 
speaking of that period of English history, 
says: "Such are the dissoluteness and con- 
tempt of principles in the higher part of the 
world, and the profligacy, intemperance, and 
fearlessness of committing crimes in the low- 
er, as must, if this torrent of impiety stop not, 
become absolutely fatal." Bishop Butler says : 
" It has come to be taken for granted that 
Christianity is no longer a subject of inquiry, 
but that it is now at length discovered to be 
fictitious; and accordingly it is treated as if, 
in the present age, this were an agreed point 
among all persons of discernment, and noth- 
ing remained but to set it up as a principal 
subject for mirth and ridicule." There was 
a corresponding decline of piety and good 
morals in America. The colonial clergy were 
like their brethren in England, and the masses 
of the people were openly profane, or totally 
indifferent to religion. Of course there were 
many noble exceptions both among clergy 



18 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

and people, but such was the general state of 
morals and religion both in England and 
America. 

It was at this critical period that the re- 
markable revivals of religion which charac- 
terized the middle of the eighteenth century 
took place under the preaching of Count Zin- 
zendorf in Germany, and the "Wesleys and 
Whitefield in England, and of Edwards in 
the United States. Mr. Wesley, with the 
marvelous foresight which made him a seer, 
perceived that the great religious movement 
could not be permanent in its results unless 
it reached the children and young people. 
He therefore laid great stress on the work 
among the children. He said: "Unless we 
can take care of the rising generation, the 
present revival of religion will be res unius 
cetatis; it will last only the age of a man."* 
To his preachers he said : " Spend an hour a 
week with the children in every large town, 

♦Tyerman's " Life of Wesley," III., 23. 



THE MODERN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 19 

whether you like it or not. Talk with them 
every time you see any at home. Pray in ear- 
nest for them." Leckey, the historian, says: 
"The Wesleyans appear to have preached spe- 
cially to children." * 

We are not therefore surprised to find 
Methodism connected historically with the 
initiation and progress of the modern Sun- 
day-school movement. Mr. Wesley was not 
the founder of the modern Sunday-school; 
that honor belongs to Mr. Robert Eaikes, of 
Gloucester, Eng. ; but Mr. Wesley and his 
preachers adopted the idea immediately, and, 
with their genius for evangelical work, made 
it an active factor in their great movement 
among the masses of the English people. As 
to the honor belonging to the founder of the 
modern Sunday-school, Dr. Trumbull, in his 
"Yale Lectures," says, and we think truly: 
"There seems to have been absolutely noth- 
ing new in the Sunday-school plans of Eob- 

* Trumbull. 



20 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

ert Eaikes. Schools of a similar character, 
and apparently with all the essential features 
of his school, were organized in Upper Egypt, 
and in Armenia, and elsewhere in the East, 
more than fourteen centuries before his day. 
All along the intervening centuries there had 
been repeated revivals of this agency of evan- 
gelism and religious instruction with more or 
less of success. The seventeenth and eight- 
eenth centuries had not been without at- 
tempts in this direction, in England, Ireland, 
Scotland, Wales, and the United States. But 
in the providence of God the times were now 
ripe for a revival of the Church-school idea 
in this form, and for its progressive preva- 
lence beyond its extremest limits of a former 
day." Mr. Eaikes, though the editor of a 
paper, did not mention his Sunday-school 
until he had made a successful trial of it for 
more than three years and a half, and did 
not then mention his own name in connec- 
tion with it. We do not repeat these facts 



THE MODERN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 21 

to detract aught from the honor due to Mr. 
Eaikes, but simply in the interest of historical 
truth. 

It may not be improper in this place to 
trace farther the connection of Methodism 
with the origin of the modern Sunday-school 
movement. As early as 1769, thirteen years 
before Mr. Eaikes organized his first school, 
"a young Methodist, Hannah Ball, established 
a Sunday-school at Wycombe, and was in- 
strumental in training many children in the 
knowledge of the holy Scriptures." * 

In 1781 another Methodist woman, after- 
ward Mrs. Bradburn, the wife of a celebrated 
Wesleyan preacher, was conversing with Mr. 
Eaikes in Gloucester on the subject of edu- 
cating the young, when he pointed to groups 
of neglected children in the street, and said: 
" What can we do for them ? " She replied : 
" Let us teach them to read, and take them 
to church." Mr. Eaikes was pleased with the 

* Stevens's "History of Methodism," Vol. II., 483. 



22 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

suggestion, and the two shortly afterward led 
a company of Sunday-school scholars to 
church.* These children were poor and neg- 
lected street waifs, and at that day such was 
the indifference of the Christian community 
in Gloucester to the moral and religious con- 
dition of the lower classes, especially the chil- 
dren, that this benevolent act of these two 
Christian philanthropists was met with pub- 
lic derision, and they were laughed at as im- 
practicable fanatics. 

In 1784 Mr. Baikes published an account 
of his plans and work for the religious train- 
ing of the neglected children in the city of 
Gloucester, which immediately attracted the 
attention of Mr. Wesley. He published Mr. 
Eaikes's article in the Arminian Magazine for 
January, 1785, and exhorted his people to 
adopt the new institution. The Methodists, 
with their characteristic zeal and enterprise, 
instantly "began to instruct their neighbors' 
* Wesleyan Magazine, 1846. 



THE MODERN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 23 

children, and to take them to the house of 
God on the Lord's-day* The same year 
Mr. Fletcher began his pious labors in the 
Sunday-school, and continued a faithful teach- 
er to the day of his death. He had three 
hundred children under his instruction, and 
was deeply interested in their religious train- 
ing.f Others joined in the good work, and 
several schools were organized. 

In 1786 Bishop Asbury introduced Sunday- 
schools into his work in America, and they 
have continued to be a marked feature of 
Methodism to this day. The same year that 
Bishop Asbury organized his first school in 
this country, Mr. Wesley says there were five 
hundred and fifty children in his Sunday- 
school at Bolton, and the next year he found 
there eight hundred scholars and eighty teach- 
ers. He says : " I find Sunday-schools spring- 
ing up wherever 1 go. Perhaps God may have 
a deeper end therein than men are aware of. 
*Mvles's History. fAbel Stevens. 



24 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

Who knows but some of these schools may be 
nurseries for Christians?"* 

Mr. Wesley wrote to one of his preachers 
in 1787 : " I am glad you have taken in hand 
that blessed work of setting up Sunday, 
schools in Chester. It seems these will be 
one great means of reviving religion throughout 
the nation. I wonder Satan has not yet sent 
out some able champion against them."f 

We have thus traced, as far as necessary 
for our present purpose, the historical con- 
nection of Methodism with the institution of 
Sunday-schools in England and America. 
Under the impulse of its zeal schools were, at 
an early day, almost universally established 
in all the Wesleyan Societies at home and 
abroad ; so that Methodist Sunday-schools are 
as universal as Methodism, and historically 
nearly as old. 

A similar interest in the establishment of 
Sunday-schools, as nurseries of the Church, 

* Wesley's Journal, 1784. f Wesleyan Magazine, 1846. 



THE MODERN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 25 

was awakened throughout all the evangelical 
denominations of Protestant Christendom. 
The English and Americans were the first to 
lay vigorous hold of the institution, and in 
three years after Mr. Eaikes published his 
account of the schools in Gloucester more 
than three hundred thousand children were 
receiving instruction from thousands of 
teachers in different parts of Europe and 
America. 

"We may properly close this section, on the 
origin of the modern Sunday-school movement, 
with Mr. Eaikes's account of the manner in 
which he was led to organize the first school 
in Gloucester. It is given in a letter addressed 
to Col. Townly, and published in the Gentle- 
man's Magazine, London, June 5, 1784. Mr. 
Eaikes says : " The utility of an establishment 
of this sort was first suggested by a group of 
miserable little wretches whom I observed 
one day in the street where many people em- 
ployed in the pin-factory reside. I was ex- 



26 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

pressing my concern to one at their forlorn 
and neglected state, and was told if I were to 
pass through that street upon Sundays it 
would shock nie indeed to see the crowds of 
children who were spending that sacred day 
in noise and riot, to the extreme annoyance 
of all decent people. I immediately deter- 
mined to make some little eifort to remedy 
the evil. Having four persons who had been 
accustomed to instruct children, I engaged to 
pay the sum they required for receiving and 
instructing such children as I should send to 
them every Sunday morning. The children 
were to come soon after ten in the morning 
and stay till twelve ; they were then to go 
home and return at one, and after reading a 
lesson they were to be conducted to church. 
After church they were to be employed in 
repeating the catechism till half-past five, 
and then to be dismissed with the injunction 
to go home without making a noise, and by 
no means to play in the street." 



THE MODERN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 27 

II. ITS DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESS. 

The reader will please not forget that we 
are discussing the modem Sunday-school, and 
not the general history of Sunday-schools. 
We do not go farther back than the last quar- 
ter of the eighteenth century. In the preced- 
ing section we have given the facts connected 
with the origin of the modern Sunday-school 
movement, its connection with the early days 
of Methodism, and its general adoption by 
the evangelical denominations of Protestant 
Christendom, especially in Europe and Amer- 
ica. We will now briefly trace the historical 
development of the institution as a Church- 
school agency for the training of the young, 
and the progress which it has made from its 
inception to the present time. 

It would have been strange indeed, and an 
exception to the common history of benevo- 
lent enterprises, if the establishment of Sun- 
day-schools had met with no opposition. Mr. 
Wesley said, when speaking of the Sunday- 



28 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

school as possibly a providential agency for 
" reviving religion throughout the nation : " 
"I wonder Satan has not yet sent out some 
able champion against it." It was not long 
before the institution was fiercely attacked by 
some of the English clergy. " The Bishop of 
Eochester denounced it, and urged the clergy 
not to support it;" and the Archbishop of 
Canterbury called the bishops together to see 
whether something could not be done to stop 
it. The Presbyterians of Scotland also op- 
posed it as a dangerous innovation.* Others, 
however, earnestly advocated it in high places, 
such as the Bishop of Chester, the Dean of 
Canterbury, the Earl of Salisbury, John New- 
ton, William Cowper, etc. Ladies of fashion 
undertook the work of Sunday-school teach- 
ing, and the Queen of England indorsed it as 
a good thing.f 

The cause immediately commended itself 
to thoughtful men in Europe and America as 

* Sir Charles Reed, June, 1S80. f Lloyd's " Life of Raikes." 



THE MODERN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 29 

opening a wide field of usefulness for person- 
al benevolent effort. Pious men and women 
volunteered their services as teachers with- 
out compensation, save that which comes 
from a consciousness of doing good. The 
commercial and mercenary feature was there- 
fore eliminated from the institution. This 
introduced a new era and gave a new charac- 
ter to the whole work. The Sunday-school 
was popular with the children from the first. 
They flocked to it in such numbers that it 
was difficult in many places to obtain a room 
large enough to accommodate them all. Even 
children who disliked the secular schools 
were fond of the Sunday-school, and this has 
always been the case. 

As the pupils increased in numbers, and 
new schools were opened, some form of organ- 
ization was found necessary in order to effi- 
cient management and proper government. 
Hence the different forms of organization 
which have from time to time been adopted, 



30 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

and modified or abandoned, as experience 
suggested. Funds were also necessary for the 
purchase of books, furniture for rooms, and 
the many incidental expenses found necessary 
for carrying on a school. This required the 
adoption of some financial system ; and in 
the early days of the institution, before the 
Churches took it under their care and control, 
the friends who were interested in it formed 
what they called " Unions." The first organ- 
ization of the kind was formed in 1803, and 
was called the "London Sunday-school Un- 
ion." It still exists. In 1816 the "New 
York Sunday-school Union " was organized, 
and in 1824 the "American Sunday-school 
Union " began its grand career. These " Un- 
ions " did much to popularize and extend the 
institution. 

The original missionary idea prominent 
in the early organizations has been retained, 
and the "destitute" and "waste places" 
have been made to "blossom as the rose" 



THE MODERN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 31 

under the labors of "Sunday-school mission- 
aries." 

The Churches soon discovered the tremen- 
dous moral influence which the Sunday-school 
was capable of exerting upon the rising gen- 
eration, and by consequence upon the future 
success of Christianity in the land. Many of 
them formed " Unions" of their own, and thus 
gathered the children under the fostering 
care of their own denominational teachings. 
Methodism was prepared, without any modi- 
fication of Church organization, to take care 
of her own children and young people, her 
great founder having, by his genius, antici- 
pated this and provided for their religious 
education. We have seen how promptly he 
indorsed Mr. Eaikes's plans, and how he in- 
structed his preachers to form Sunday-schools 
wherever they went. 

The Sunday-school at an early day com- 
mended itself to all who had any progressive 
enterprise, and was adopted by one denomi- 



32 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

nation after another until all the evangelical 
Churches of Europe and America have incor- 
porated it as an integral part of their regular 
working agencies. The Primitive Baptists 
are the only people in the bounds of Christen- 
dom who have persistently refused to adopt 
the Sunday-school. They do not believe in the 
use of means for the conversion of sinners or 
for the spread of the gospel, and are therefore 
consistent in refusing to have any thing to do 
with Sunday-schools. The Eoman Catholics, 
the Jews, and even the Mormons, have Sun- 
day-schools ; and recently the anarchists have 
organized what they call Sunday-schools for 
the education of their children in the princi- 
ples of communism, atheism, and anarchy. 
They declare that this is* necessary to protect 
their children from the evil influences of 
Christianity ! 

The missionary element inherent in the 
gospel has led to the organization of " mission 
Sunday-schools" in destitute parts of our 



THE MODERN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 33 

country and in foreign lands. " In our newer 
communities a very large proportion of all the 
churches organized within the last half-cent- 
ury have had their beginning in a Sunday- 
school — without the influence of which a 
church could neither have been formed nor 
have been continued in such neighborhood." * 
In this way the Sunday-school has become a 
most efficient agency in pioneer evangeliza- 
tion in Christian countries, and a prime fac- 
tor in foreign missionary work. All our for- 
eign missions depend largely for their success 
upon the education of the children and young 
people, and this is most effectively done 
through the Sunday-school. 

There is an organization known as the 
"Foreign Sunday-school Association," which 
seeks to promote the cause of Sunday-schools 
in Europe and other countries where it is not 
a specialty of Church work. It is entirely 
undenominational, and purely voluntary. 

* Trumbull. 



34 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

The founder and president lives in Brooklyn, 
X. Y. This association has done much good. 
Sunday-schools have been organized under its 
patronage and chiefly by its agency in Italy, 
Spain, France, Syria, Japan, Portugal, Ger- 
many, Switzerland, and other countries. 

The result of all this development is a well 
organized and equipped department of Chris- 
tian work. Houses and rooms connected with 
churches, adapted to the use of Sunday- 
schools, have been built and furnished with 
seats, organs, libraries, etc. A distinct and 
extensive literature has been created to meet 
the demand for what is known as " Sunday- 
school Helps," "Lesson Leaves," etc. Some 
of the best writers in our language — theolo- 
gians, Biblical critics, and scientific men in 
Europe and America — are contributors to 
our current Sunday-school literature. Music- 
books adapted to the tastes and capacities of 
children, containing a style of music unique 
and pleasing, have come into existence, and 



THE MODERN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 35 

are extensively used in the Sunday-schools in 
Europe and America. 

Sunday-school conventions, institutes, and 
assemblies have been organized all over the 
land, and the cause has been greatly promoted 
by their agency. Our own Church has pro- 
vided, through its General Conference, for a 
series of conferences, conventions, etc., in the 
interest of our Sunday-school work. There 
is a General Sunday-school Committee having 
" general supervision of the Sunday-school in- 
terests of the Church." There is in each An- 
nual Conference a Sunday-school Board, which 
is required to "give special attention to all the 
Sunday-school interests in the bounds of the 
Conference." Provision is also made for a 
" Conference Sunday-school Convention to be 
held annually within the bounds of the Con- 
ference." "It is recommended that a Sun- 
day-school convention be held in each pre- 
siding elder's district," etc.* Each Quarterly 

* See Discipline, Section V., pp. 136-1-13. 



36 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

Conference is " a Board of Managers, having 
supervision of all the Sunday-schools within 
its bounds." Our Church has thus provided 
in its legislation for conventions, etc., and has 
placed the Sunday-school under the immedi- 
ate supervision of the General, Annual, Dis- 
trict, and Quarterly Conferences. This de- 
partment of Church work has been carefully 
provided for by our General Conference. 

Undenominational Sunday-school conven- 
tions have been organized in all, or nearly all, 
the States of the Union, with auxiliary coun- 
ty and district conventions. Over all, em- 
bracing not only the United States, but 
Canada, and the British Provinces of North 
America, is the International Sunday-school 
Convention, of which we shall have more to 
say hereafter. 

From an aggregate membership of a few 
hundreds at the beginning of this century the 
Sunday-school population of the world has 
grown to be, according to the last interna- 



THE MODERN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 37 

tional statistics, 20,078,595 ! Such has been 
the development and progress of the modern 
Sunday-school movement. From a single 
community it has gone to every land and na- 
tion on earth, and from a few hundreds of 
teachers and scholars it has increased to mill- 
ions! Surely the hand of God is in this 
movement. (See statistical tables.) 



CHAPTER III. 
EARLY METHODS OF TEACHING. 



IN the beginning of the modern Sunday- 
school movement the. schools were semi- 
religious only, the secular idea of a primary 
literary training being prominent. The plan 
drawn up by Mr. Fletcher for the schools in 
the parish of Madeley, of which he had charge, 
illustrates the original conception of the plan 
and work of the Sunday-school. He said : 
" It is proposed that Sunday-schools be set up 
in this parish for such children as are em- 
ployed all the week, and for those whose ed- 
ucation has been hitherto neglected ; that the 
children admitted into these be taught read- 
ing, writing, and the principles of religion ; 
that there be a school for boys and another 
for girls in Madeley, Madeleywood, and Col- 
brookdale — six in all." We have seen that 
(38) 



METHODS OF TEACHING. 39 

the subjects taught in the schools established 
by Mr. Eaikes and his associates were " read- 
ing, writing, and the catechism." This sec- 
ular feature was incorporated into all the 
English Sunday-schools because the object 
was to benefit the children of the poorer 
classes. Mr. Wesley was the first to suggest 
that the Sunday-schools might become " nur- 
series of the Church," and as such should be 
brought into close connection with the Church 
and congregation. He also encouraged good 
people to work in them as teachers without 
pay. Thus the two secular features, the sub- 
jects of study, "reading and writing," and 
the pay system — giving the teachers a pe- 
cuniary reward — soon disappeared from the 
Wesleyan Sunday-schools, and gradually from 
all the Sunday-schools in Europe and Amer- 
ica. 

"With a change in the manner of conduct- 
ing Sunday-schools came also a change in the 
general character of the schools. The secular 



40 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

and mercenary ideas were abandoned, and a 
decided religious cast was given to the whole 
institution. The Bible was introduced into the 
new and simple curriculum, and devotional 
services connected with the opening and clos- 
ing exercises. The devout men and women, 
who volunteered to become regular teachers 
without pay, naturally felt a deep interest in 
the spiritual welfare of the children, and their 
pious efforts were rewarded. [Revivals of re- 
ligion became frequent in the schools. The 
churches and congregations connected with 
them felt the impulse of a new life. A fresh 
interest was awakened in the conversion of 
the young. A new era in the evangelical 
movements of Christendom was inaugurated, 
and an epoch introduced from which the 
Church historians will date the beginning of 
the great revival period of modern times. 

The changes to which we have referred in 
the foregoing paragraph were not sudden. 
For some time after the secular features of 



METHODS OF TEACHING. 41 

the Sunday-school were practically eliminated, 
the teaching was confined to the catechisms 
and to simple instruction in the New Testa- 
ment. The smaller children only were re- 
quired or solicited to attend. Gradually the 
plans and methods were expanded, as neces- 
sity required or experience suggested, until 
they comprised a systematic study of the 
Bible in limited lessons, week by week. Ef- 
forts were mad 3 to organize systems of Bible 
study for the Sunday-school; but, while a great 
advance was made upon the old miscellaneous 
and chaotic methods of early days, no system 
devised met fully the approval of a majority 
of superintendents and teachers. In the 
meantime scholars were classified, books for 
libraries were procured, and the institution 
gradually took on " form " and "order," grow- 
ing into shape by force of its internal life, and 
the peculiar circumstances of its environment. 
The development of the germinal Sunday- 
school idea is marked by several distinct de- 



42 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

grces of progress. First, the era of mission 
Sunday-schools, teaching only the children of 
the poor, and for the most part secular stud- 
ies. Second, the era of "Bible-schools for 
children," or teaching only the word of God 
in a consecutive order, going from Genesis to 
Revelation ; or in a miscellaneous manner, ac- 
cording to the taste or whim of the teacher. 
In this period the mania for memorizing the 
language of Scripture raged. Marvelous 
feats were performed by some children, mem- 
orizing and repeating whole books in a few 
weeks. This abnormal method soon exhaust- 
ed itself. 

The next step in the line of progress was 
the " Limited Lesson Scheme." It consisted 
of select Scripture lessons printed on cards. 
These were quite popular for a time, and 
hundreds of schools used them. The Amer- 
ican Sunday-school Union heartily indorsed 
the plan, and declared in its report for 1829 
that the "Selected Lessons are now almost 



METHODS OF TEACHING. 43 

universally introduced." This system con- 
templated a five years' course of study, each 
year to contain forty lessons, embracing the 
principal facts and truths of the Bible. 

The system of "Selected Lessons" did 
much to prepare the way for the " Uniform 
System of Lessons" which followed, and 
which was ultimately developed into the pres- 
ent " International Scheme of Bible Lessons." 
The "Selected Lessons" soon displaced the 
old plan of encouraging every child to com- 
mit as many chapters to memory as possible, 
and doing this without regard to system, each 
one selecting his own lessons. 

The era of " Question-books " followed. 
The American Sunday-school Union published 
an immense number of the " Union Questions," 
and sold them at a very low price. These 
books were prepared with care, and were for 
a time extremely popular. But they were 
not entirely satisfactory, and were after a 
while superseded by another system, known 



44 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

as the " Orange Judd System." Perhaps we 
should say supplemented rather than super- 
seded, for the "Union Questions" held their 
place, in many parts of the country, until the 
"International Scheme" supplanted them. 
The Judd Scheme was adopted by the Sun- 
day-school Union of the M. E. Church, and 
effectively used for years by the "Union." 
After a time it was substituted by the 
" Lesson Papers " and " Berean Lessons " of 
Dr. Vincent, published first in 1865. This 
scheme ultimately prepared the way for the 
present system. 



CHAPTER IV. 
THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON SYSTEM. 



WE have now reached the point in the his- 
tory of the modern Sunday-school at 
which the present International Lesson Sys- 
tem was introduced. As this is one of the 
most important events in the whole history 
of Sunday-schools, a brief sketch of its or- 
igin and adoption may not here be out of 
place* 

In the discussion of systems for general use 
at the time the International System was 
adopted four plans were advocated. First, a 
system of Bible doctrines, as indicated by a 
common creed of evangelical Christians, based 
upon the principal catechisms of the Churches. 

* See Trumbull's Lectures; Gilbert's " Story of Its Ori- 
gin;" Candler's "History of Sunday-schools;" Lyons's 
"Sunday-school and Its Methods; " J. I. D. Hinds, etc. 

(45) 



46 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

Second, personal duties to God and man as 
taught in the Scriptures. Third, the life of 
our Lord, as set forth in prophecy and history, 
and conformed to the seasons of the Church 
year — the Church calendar. Fourth, the 
Bible as the Book of books, its doctrines, 
duties, and the life of Christ. The last, or 
fourth scheme, is that upon which the pres- 
ent system is based. 

Professor Hinds, of Cumberland University, 
after tracing the initiation and development 
of the Uniform Lesson System from its incep- 
tion to its final culmination in the Interna- 
tional System, says: "Dr. Vincent invented 
the lesson system, Dr. Eggleston showed its 
practicability and general adaptation, but it 
was B. F. Jacobs, of Chicago, who conceived 
the idea of a uniform lesson, not for one lo- 
cality or one denomination merely, but for 
the whole country." 

As early as 1867 Mr. Jacobs earnestly 
advocated the uniform lesson system. "His 



INTERNATIONAL LESSON SYSTEM. 47 

scheme was, first, one lesson for the whole 
school; second, one lesson for all the schools 
in the country; and third, the preparation of 
cheap lesson helps for teachers and pupils." 
The first religious paper to adopt Mr. Jacobs's 
suggestions was the Standard, a Baptist paper 
published in Chicago. This paper published 
in 1868 a series of lessons prepared by Mr. 
Jacobs. With characteristic energy and per- 
severance he urged his scheme in the State 
Conventions of Illinois, Iowa, and New York, 
and by his influence The Sunday-school Teach- 
er, of Chicago, The Sunday-school Times, and 
finally the National Sunday-school Conven- 
tion were induced to adopt his scheme.* 

The National Sunday-school Convention 
met in April, 1872, in the city of Indianapolis. 
The subject of a uniform system of lessons 
had been discussed until the people generally 
were prepared to receive with favor any plan 
the Convention might adopt. Mr. Jacobs was 

* Dr. Gilbert, 1. Newton Baker, Dr. Trumbull. 



48 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

on hand ready to present his plan to the con- 
vention. He did so in an earnest speech 
which was received with great enthusiasm. 
^Lv. Baker, in his report of the convention, 
says: "A quiver of eager desire seemed to 
thrill the whole body. It was known that a 
strong feeling in favor of the project was 
abroad in the Sunday-school community, but 
the feverish excitement and solemnly set 
purpose of such vast numbers, manifested 
in such intensity, were hardly expected by 
the most ardent and sanguine advocates of 
the system. There was scarcely a corporal's 
guard of opponents to the measure." The 
final vote was almost unanimous. When it 
was announced, the convention arose and 
sung with spirit, "Praise God, from whom all 
blessings flow." 

A committee of five ministers and five lay- 
men from different parts of the United States, . 
and two laymen from the Dominion of Can- 
ada, were immediately appointed to arrange 



INTERNATIONAL LESSON SYSTEM. 49 

" a series of Bible lessons for a term of seven 
years, covering a general study of the whole 
Bible." This first committee was selected 
with care. Dr. J. H. Vincent, who had con- 
tributed so much to bring about the adoption 
of a uniform system of Bible lessons, was 
very properly made chairman of the com- 
mittee, a position he has filled from that 
day to the present time. Dr. Warren Ean- 
dolph, of .Rhode Island, was elected secretary, 
a place he has filled with distinguished ability 
through all these eighteen years. The other 
members of the committee were John Hall, 
Richard Newton, A. L. Chapin, George H. 
Stuart, B. F. Jacobs, P. G-. Gillett, A. G. Tyng, 
H. E. Haven, of the United States ; and J. 
Munroe Gibson and A. McCallum, of Canada. 
The committee discharged their duty in a 
satisfactory manner for seven years. At the 
meeting of the International Convention in 
1878, in Atlanta, Ga., a new committee was 
appointed. Six members of the first commit- 



50 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

tee were retained, viz.: Vincent, Hall, Ban- 
dolph, Jacobs, Gillett, and Newton. The new 
members were M. B. Palmer, "W. G. E. Cun- 
nyngham, Franklin Fairbanks, John A. Broad- 
us, H. L. Baugher, James A. Worden, D. IT. 
McYicar, of Quebec, and John Potts, of On- 
tario. The London Sunday-school Union ap- 
pointed as " corresponding members" of the 
committee, Fountain J. Hartley and "W. H. 
Groser, both laymen. 

At the International Convention held in 
Louisville, Ky., in 1883, the Lesson Commit- 
tee was renewed, and also at Pittsburg, Pa., 
in 1890. The present committee consists of 
fifteen members instead of fourteen, one hav- 
ing been added by the last convention. The 
committee now represents the evangelical de- 
nominations of the United States, Canada, and 
Great Britain, as follows: J. H. Yincent, 
Methodist; John Hall, Presbyterian; Warren 
Eandolph, Baptist; S. H. Blake, Protestant 
Episcopal; B. F. Jacobs, Baptist; Moses D. 



INTERNATIONAL LESSON SYSTEM. 51 

Hoge, Southern Presbyterian ; "W. G. E. Cun- 
nyngham, Southern Methodist; John A. 
Broadus, Baptist ; H. L. Baugher, Lutheran ; 
John Potts, Wesleyan; A. E. Dunning, Con- 
gregational ; J. I. D. Hinds, Cumberland Pres- 
byterian ; I). Berger, United Brethren ; B. B. 
Tyler, J. S. Stair. Corresponding members: 
Fountain J. Hartley, William Groser, London 
Sunday-school Union ; C. H. Kelley, Wesley- 
an ; J. Munroe Gibson, English Presbyterian. 

The Lesson Committee, under instructions 
by the International Convention, is limited 
in its work to the one duty of selecting the 
Scripture text of the lesson and the Golden Text. 
Nothing beyond this is allowed. Not one 
word of comment, or note of explanation, or 
even a parallel reading, is permitted ; so that 
it is impossible to intimate, or in the most re- 
mote manner suggest, a denominational inter- 
pretation of any passage of Scripture selected 
as a lesson. 

The International Lesson System has grad- 



52 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

ually won its way in the Protestant Christian 
world, until now it is used by all the leading 
evangelical denominations, both in their 
churches at home and in their foreign mission 
fields. While it is not easy to ascertain the 
number of persons using these lessons, we can 
safely say that not less than eight millions 
are engaged in studying them. A vast body 
of Biblical literature has been created to meet 
the demands of this great army of Bible stu- 
dents. Commentaries, cyclopedias, works of 
Biblical research are called for to an extent 
never dreamed of before. The first scholars 
in the great universities of the world are 
called upon to aid in the elucidation and illus- 
tration of the current Sunday-school lessons. 
Orators, statesmen, linguists, and scientists 
are enlisted in the study of God's word as 
never before. So it has come to pass that at 
the very time when the Bible as a single 
whole is most severely assailed from without 
by unbelievers, and seriously questioned by 



INTERNATIONAL LESSON SYSTEM. 53 

those who profess to be its friends, a larger 
number of persons than ever before in the 
history of the world are engaged in the care- 
ful, critical study of the Scriptures, aided by 
such helps as no generation ever had before 
them. " "When the enemy shall come in like 
a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a 
standard against him." 

The results following this uniform, system- 
atic study of God's word are far-reaching 
and endless. One who faithfully follows the 
seven years' course of study selected by the 
Lesson Committee will have a broad and com- 
prehensive view of the Eible from Genesis to 
Revelation. Many a young layman, in one 
of our better conducted Sunday-schools, 
trained under the influence of this system, is 
to-day more familiar with the Bible as a 
whole than was many a minister of the gos- 
pel a generation ago. A prominent minister 
of the gospel said, not long ago, of a young 
man who was about to enter college : " He 



54 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

knows more of the Bible than I knew of it 
when I left the theological seminary, for he 
has had advantages in Eible study such as we 
knew nothing of in Sunday-school, in college, 
or in the seminary in my day."* 

The young men in our American colleges 
to-day, especially the better class of students, 
are giving more attention to the systematic 
study of the English Bible than in any pre- 
ceding age in the history of education in this 
country. Such a gathering of " college stu- 
dents " as met last summer in Northfield, 
Mass., to study the Bible under the direction 
of Mr. Moody, was never heard of in the 
world before. From three hundred to six 
hundred of the brightest and most successful 
students in the largest and most popular col- 
leges and universities of the nation, spending 
weeks together in the simple study of God's 
word, is a marvel and a prophetic wonder 
that promises much for the future of our 

* Trumbull. 



INTERNATIONAL LESSON SYSTEM. 55 

country. Such a thing would have been an 
impossibility twenty-five years ago. Surely 
the Spirit of the Lord is lifting up a standard 
against the enemy, and the strong young men 
in Christendom are flocking to it. Our Lord 
is leading this valiant host in person to the 
conquest of the world. 

Another effect the uniform lessons have had 
not only upon the Sunday-schools, but upon 
the Churches of Christendom, is to bring 
them closer together. Doctrinal differences 
have become less prominent as men have 
turned their attention away from ecclesias- 
tical and theological discussions to the direct 
study of the Scriptures, as artificial lights 
grow dim in the splendor of the sunlight. 
The study of the same portion of holy Script- 
ure every week, with the same helps to its 
exposition, tends unconsciously to bring 
Christians closer together. There is an in- 
creasing desire for unity among Protestant 
Christians. The frequent meeting in conven- 



56 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

tions and institutes with devout men and 
women of different denominations has the 
effect to break down the thorny hedges that 
have too long fenced off into narrow sections 
the different branches of the Church of Christ. 
It is a matter of no little interest to find our- 
selves working in harmony with the leading 
denominations of the Protestant world, espe- 
cially in these days of papal aggression. " The 
Bible is the religion of Protestants," and un- 
less we teach it faithfully to the rising genera- 
tion Romanism and infidelity will have the 
field. Our denominational differences have 
done much to weaken our testimony before 
the world. The uniform lesson system fur- 
nishes a common ground on which all evangel- 
ical Christians can meet and teach together 
the great doctrines of their faith. Here we 
can all agree, and the sympathy of a common 
cause, and unity of effort, will do much to 
stimulate our zeal, strengthen our hope, and 
give moral force to our teaching and example. 



CHAPTER V. 
SUNDAY-SCHOOL LITERATURE. 



A distinct class of literature has been 
created by the demands of the Sunday- 
school world. This literature is divided into 
current or periodical literature, and books and 
tracts for libraries. 

The Sunday-schools of Eaikes's time had 
no literature, no books, no periodicals, because 
the schools were intended for the pauper 
classes, and they could not have used books 
had they been provided for them. As for 
periodical literature, no such thing existed. 
The catechisms and spelling-book, with per- 
haps a few simple books for such children as 
had learned to read a little, constituted the 
literary furniture of a Sunday-school at that 
day. 

The Sunday-schools in America, however, 

(57) 



58 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

were composed of a different class of people : 
children of well-to-do persons, as well as the 
children of the very pool*, attended them. 
The utility of a circulating library was soon 
discussed by the wide-awake, progressive 
American, and small books and tracts were 
collected, forming the nucleus of what was 
afterward known as the "Sunday-school 
Library." Most of these books were paper- 
covered story-books of a very inferior quality. 
The English, though slow at first to adopt 
the idea of libraries for the Sunday-schools, 
began the publication of books for children 
as early as 1810, under the supervision of the 
Religious Tract Society of London. These 
books soon found their way into the Sunday- 
schools, and this created a great demand for 
them. They were consequently much im- 
proved in quality and adaptation to the wants 
of the children and young people. Books for 
teachers were also furnished by the Society, 
and, though far inferior to those published 



SUNDAY-SCHOOL LITERATURE. 59 

by it to-day, were of great service to the 
teachers. 

In America the "Unions," especially the 
American Sunday-school Union, began at an 
early day the publication of books and tracts 
for the use of Sunday-schools. The American 
Tract Society has also done much to furnish 
suitable literature for Sunday-schools. Pri» 
vate and denominational publishing houses 
have made such books a specialty. These 
libraries have become so numerous as to de- 
mand and receive a place in the United States 
Census.* 

The Sunday-school library has been much 
decried and depreciated, characterized as 
"feeble literary trash," and the like. Some 
ground for severe criticism doubtless exists, 
but a wholesale denunciation is not just. 
What was once true in regard to the average 
Sunday-school book is no longer true; the 

*On this siibject see Candler's "History of Sunday- 
schools." 



60 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

average has improved greatly. There are 
still many worthless, and doubtless some 
pernicious books in some libraries, but as a 
whole they are good and not evil. There 
are many valuable books, good books, useful 
books, in our common Sunday-school libra- 
ries, and they are constantly improving. "We 
have history, biography, travels, moral les- 
sons, sermons, and nearly all subjects treated 
of in popular libraries, in our select Sunday- 
school catalogue. 

The periodical Sunday-school literature of 
the present day has grown from very small 
beginnings, within the last few years, to such 
a magnitude as places it among the most 
profitable productions of our leading Church 
publishing houses. Thousands of men and 
women are engaged in its preparation, and 
hundreds of thousands of dollars are em- 
ployed annually in its manufacture. Private 
publishers, with large capital, devote all their 
attention to this department of literature. 



SUNDAY-SCHOOL LITERATURE. 61 

Our limited space will not permit more than 
a mere outline sketch of the origin and de- 
velopment of this unique literature. 

"The Question-books" of the American 
Sunday-school Union, and the "Annuals" 
published by other Societies, probably sug- 
gested the idea of periodical publications 
containing expositions of the text, and other 
helps to the teacher and pupil. As early as 
1827 the American Sunday-school Union be- 
gan the publication of an annual series of ques- 
tion-books, connected with what was known 
as the " Selected Lesson Scheme." It is said 
that the circulation of these little annuals in- 
creased every year until in 1840 one million 
six hundred thousand copies were sold dur- 
ing the year. Dr. James Strong is said to 
have added to the idea of "Questions on 
the Lessons," as published by Orange Judd, 
"Connecting History and Analysis," and thus 
suggested notes, "helps," "lesson leaves," etc. 
Be this as it may, the modern current helps 



62 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

have grown out of the necessity for some- 
thing more than the catechisms and question- 
books of an early day, and their development 
may have been suggested and modified by the 
various tentative efforts of individuals and 
societies. We think it more than probable. 

In the remaining paragraphs of this sec- 
tion we will confine the inquiry to those pe- 
riodical publications immediately connected 
with the origin and development of the In- 
ternational Lesson Scheme. 

In 1865 Dr. John H. Vincent began, in the 
city of Chicago, 111., the publication of the 
Sunday-school Teachers' Quarterly, which was 
afterward changed to a monthly publica- 
tion and called The National Sunday-school 
Teacher. 

Dr. Yincent said in the first number of the 
Quarterly: "We do not call for a journal 
merely to give publicity to our operations. 
We could afford to wait for coming ages to 
find out what we have been doing. The 



SUNDAY-SCHOOL LITERATURE. 63 

teacher needs teaching. The problem that 
perplexes one, another is able to solve. The 
obscure school has its ingenious and success- 
ful superintendent who devises practicable 
plans. There are thousands of schools in 
need of his suggestions. The most practica- 
ble Sunday-school ideas come from our most 
practical teachers. "We want a magazine 
which shall open its pages to such teachers, 
and give the entire Church the benefit of 
their discoveries and inventions — to give plans 
and courses of study — thus enabling the least 
efficient schools to know how the best are 
conducted." Here is the whole matter in a 
nutshell. Here are the uses and the place of 
Sunday-school periodical publications set 
forth in the clear, terse style of that prince 
of Sunday-school workers, Bishop Yincent. 

Every evangelical denomination in our 
country (and many in foreign countries) has 
its magazines, quarterlies, lesson-papers, or 
other publications, devoted to the discussion 



64 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

of the current lessons and the general inter- 
ests of its Sunday-schools. Some of these are 
of a high literary character, evangelical, 
scholarly, and devout. Some are undenomi- 
national in name, but sufficiently orthodox, 
according to certain schools of theology, to 
serve the purposes of a Sunday-school organ. 
Most of them, however, are strictly demomi- 
national. Some of the best scholars and writ- 
ers in our language are regular contributors 
to these periodicals, and furnish every week 
elaborate critical and illustrative articles on 
the current lesson. Larger publications, con- 
taining the course of lessons for the entire 
year, with eclectic notes, apt illustrations, 
hints for teachers, and other helps, are fur- 
nished annually at moderate prices. Maps, 
charts, blackboards, chronological tables, etc., 
are kept on hand in large quantities by all 
our publishing houses. The demand for such 
articles is very great, and publishers and mer- 
chants find it a source of profit to supply 



SUNDAY-SCHOOL LITERATURE. 65 

them to the Sunday- schools in the bounds of 
their trade. Popular magazines and secular 
newspapers feel the necessity of recognizing 
the field and scope of the Sunday-school lit- 
erature of the day. The very atmosphere 
of every Christian community in our land is 
surcharged with the spirit of this literature. 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL LITERATURE, M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. 

The Sunday School Visitor was begun in 
1851, under the editorship of Dr. T. O. Sum- 
mers, and published in Charleston, S. C. It 
is a four-page illustrated paper, intended for 
the children and young people of the Church, 
and is issued in three editions — weekly, semi- 
monthly, and monthly. 

The Sunday School Magazine was issued 
first in 1870, under the editorial management 
of Rev. A. G. Haygood, D.D., the Sunday- 
school Secretary of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South— now Bishop Haygood. It 
was a thirty-two page monthly. It has 
5 



66 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

since been enlarged to sixty-four pages. It 
contains the current International Lessons, 
with Expository Notes, Practical Applica- 
tions, Hints to Primary Teachers, and Doc- 
trinal Teaching. There is also an Editorial 
Department, in which matters connected with 
the general work, methods of teaching, and 
other subjects are discussed; also Book No- 
tices, etc. 

The Senior Quarterly, for Bible classes and 
advanced scholars, has thirty-two pages 8vo, 
and contains the International Lessons, with 
brief expository notes, questions, etc. 

The Intermediate Quarterly, thirty-two 
pages 8vo, has the International Lessons 
with explanatory notes adapted to the inter- 
mediate and younger classes. Below these 
in grade there is the Illustrated Lesson Paper, 
four pages, for the primary classes, with ques- 
tions, illustrations, etc.; and Our Little Peo- 
ple, four pages, intended for the infant class 
teacher. 



SUNDAY-SCHOOL LITERATURE. 67 

These periodicals are graded to suit the 
different classes in the average Sunday- 
school. They are printed on good paper, 
clear type, and are as cheap as any of equal 
quality in the land. 

LIBRARIES. 

In addition to our periodical literature, we 
have a series of graded Sunday-school libra- 
ries, ten in number, besides a large miscella- 
neous assortment of books suitable for fami- 
lies, schools, and churches. These books 
have been selected with great care by com- 
petent persons employed by the General 
Book Agents, and the number is being con- 
stantly increased. Rev. J. A. Lyons, of the 
Holston Conference, for some years Assistant 
Sunday-school Editor, says of these libra- 
ries: "The books thus brought to your no- 
tice have been selected with special reference 
to the wants of our people, every new vol- 
ume in the list having been read and ap- 
proved by competent persons. Under the 



68 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

following critical test hundreds of volumes 
have been rejected: 1. Is the literary style 
of this book good? 2. Is it interesting? 3. 
Is it instructive and helpful? 4. Is its reli- 
gious tone and teaching positive, or merely 
incidental? 5. Is it sound in doctrine, poli- 
ty, and religious sentiment as held and 
taught by the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South? 6. Does it contain sentiments dis- 
tasteful to Southern readers? 7. What does 
it teach, and with what success? 8. Can it 
be safely recommended as a good book for 
Sunday-school libraries? 9. To whom is it 
best adapted — children, youths, or adults? 
10. On the score of merit, is it first, second, 
or third class?" Under these rigid rules, all 
the books in our Sunday-school Catalogue 
have been examined and selected. 

Maps, charts, blackboards, Bible lesson pic- 
tures, and other requisites of Sunday-school 
work are supplied by our Publishing House. 



PART SECOND. 



CH/cPTER I. 

ORGANIZATION, MANAGEMENT, AND 
WORK.* 

The General Conference has recognized 
the Sunday-school as an integral part 
of the Church, and has accordingly provided 
for its organization and control. The Dis- 
cipline says: "Let Sunday-schools be formed 
in all our congregations where ten persons 
can be collected for that purpose." Again: 
"Let all the Sunday-schools connected with 
our congregations be under the control of 
our own Church; and let them use our own 
catechisms, question books, and periodical 
literature." " The Quarterly Conference of 
each circuit and station shall be a Board of 
Managers, having the supervision of all the 

*In discussing the organization and "work of the Sun- 
day-school I shall follow the Discipline and usage of the 
M.E. Church, South. 

(69) 



70 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

Sunday-schools within its bounds." "Each 
Annual Conference shall establish a Sunday- 
school Board, composed of one layman from 
each presiding elder's district, and an equal 
number of ministers, which shall give spe- 
cial attention to all the Sunday-school inter- 
ests within the bounds of the Conference." 
The General Conference elects every four 
years "a committee of five, of which the 
Sunday-school Editor shall be chairman, who, 
with the Book Agents and Book Committee, 
shall provide for the publication of Sunday- 
school books and periodicals, and have gen- 
eral supervision of the Sunday-school inter- 
ests of the Church." 

The General Conference has thus planned 
all the Sunday-school operations of our 
Church under law, from the smallest school 
connected with the individual congregation 
up to the highest council in the Church. 
Provision is made for the organization of 
Sunday-schools by the pastor; for the elec- 



ORGANIZATION, MANAGEMENT, WORK. 71 

tion of superintendents by the Quarterly 
Conference, and for reports to the Quarterly 
Conference, to the Annual Conference, and 
to the General Conference, from every charge 
in the Church. 

Every well-organized Sunday-school has 
for its officers, (1) the Pastor, ex officio; (2) 
a Superintendent; (3) Secretary; (4) Libra- 
rian; (5) Treasurer; and a corps of intelli- 
gent and pious teachers. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE PASTOB'S PLACE IN THE SUNDAY- 
SCHOOL. 

What relation does the pastor sustain to 
the Sunday-school connected with his 
congregation? or, What is the pastor's place 
in the Sunday-school? We might as well 
ask, What is the pastor's place in the 
Church? If the Sunday-school is a part of 
the Church, so recognized and provided for 
by the General Conference, and if the Sun- 
day-school is a part of the local congregation 
with which it is connected, then the pastor 
has charge of it as he has of any other part 
of the congregation; it is under his 'pastoral 
care, and the functions of his office extend 
to its supervision and general management. 
His duties are plainly and specifically pre- 
scribed in the Discipline. He is required 
"to be present in all the Sunday-schools of 
(72) 



THE pastor's place. 73 

his charge as often as practicable, (1) to 
catechise the children, (2) to preach to them 
as often as convenient, (3) to exhort them to 
attend regularly upon divine services, (4) to 
see that they are instructed in the doctrines 
and usages of our Church, and (5) to look 
after their spiritual welfare as a part of his 
regular pastoral charge." (Discipline, para- 
graph 241.) The pastor is also required to 
furnish at each meeting of the Quarterly 
Conference a " written report of the number 
and state of the Sunday - schools " in his 
charge (Discipline, paragraph 241). He is 
further required to make a report of the 
number and state of the Sunday-schools in 
his charge, number of teachers and pupils, 
to the Annual Conference. 

No minister is faithful to the responsibili- 
ties and obligations of his office as a pastor 
who neglects any part of his work. The 
chief functions of the pastoral office in the 
Sunday-school are supervision and instruction. 



74 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

1. Supervision. Pastor means "a shep- 
herd; one who has the care of flocks and 
herds" — "a minister of the gospel who has 
the care of souls." The charge of Paul to 
the elders of Ephesus contains the sum of 
pastoral responsibility and duty: "Take heed 
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the 
flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath 
made you overseers, to feed the Church of 
God, which he hath purchased with his own 
blood." (Acts xx. 28.) 

In exercising the functions of the pastoral 
office in the Sunday-school, a wise minister 
will be careful not to embarrass the superin- 
tendent, or other officers of the school, by 
the assumption of prerogatives and powers 
which do not necessarily belong to his office. 
The superintendent has his duties as the pas- 
tor's, assistant in the management of the 
school, and the exercise of the authority, 
relegated to him for the discharge of these 
duties, should not be interfered with by the 



the pastor's place. 75 

pastor or anybody else. If he is incompetent 
and unable to discharge successfully the du- 
ties of his office, then dismiss him, but do 
not confuse or thwart his administration by 
any unnecessary interference with his move- 
ments. 

The pastor should give careful attention 
to the character and qualifications of the 
superintendent and teachers employed in his 
school. He should examine the books, cate- 
chisms, and periodical literature used in the 
school, and not leave this important matter 
to the whims and caprice of incompetent 
persons. Yery objectionable literature is 
sometimes introduced into schools because it 
is cheap or showy. No Methodist preacher 
can allow the presence of alien or question- 
able literature in his Sunday-school, any 
more than he can permit an heretical eccle- 
siastical tramp to occupy his pulpit. The 
pastor should also look after the character 
of the several entertainments given by his 



76 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

Sunday-school, and see to it that no dra- 
matic, frivolous, or sensational exhibitions, 
unbecoming a Christian congregation, be 
tolerated. It is not the business of a Sun- 
day-school to furnish amusement for the 
public. There are forms of entertainment 
for anniversaries, holidays, and special occa- 
sions, appropriate and instructive, which 
may be used without violating sound reli- 
gious sentiment or good taste. Against such 
there is no reasonable objection. 

Above all other things the pastor is re- 
quired to look after the spiritual interests, 
the salvation, of the children. " In his pas- 
toral visitations let him pay special attention 
to the children; speak to them personally 
and kindly on experimental and practical 
godliness, according to their capacity; pray 
earnestly for them, and cause them to be 
faithfully instructed in the nature, design, 
privileges, and obligations of their baptism." 
(Discipline, paragraph 210.) 



the pastor's place. 77 

As soon as the pastor is satisfied that the 
children, thus carefully trained in the home 
and Sunday-school, are able " to comprehend 
the responsibilities involved in a public pro- 
fession of faith in Christ, and give evidence 
of a sincere and earnest determination to 
discharge the same," he is to see that they be 
duly recognized as members of the Church, 
agreeably to the provisions of the Disci- 
pline." (Discipline, paragraph 211.) 

In closing this chapter on the pastor's 
relations and duty to the Sunday-school, I 
would add a few words on 

PREACHING TO CHILDREN. 

The law of the Church says: "It shall be 
the duty of the preacher in charge of every 
circuit and station to be present in all the 
Sunday-schools in his charge as often as 
practicable, to catechise the children, to 
preach to them as often as convenient, to 
exhort them to attend regularly upon divine 
service." (Discipline, 1894, paragraph 241.) 



78 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

If children are required " to attend regu- 
larly upon divine service," then it is .reason- 
able to suppose that provision will be made 
for their accommodation in the church, and 
that the pastor will recognize their presence 
and provide for their instruction, not only 
occasionally — "as often as convenient" — but 
regularly every time there is "divine serv- 
ice;" for why should they be exhorted to 
" attend regularly," if no regular provision 
is made for them? 

Preparation is made for the comfort and 
convenience of children in our Sunday-school 
rooms; why not in our churches? I do not 
remember to have seen more than one church 
building in which comfortable seats were 
provided for the children. Usually not the 
least intimation exists anywhere in the house 
of God, in furniture or arrangement, that 
children are expected or desired to be pres- 
ent at public service. I would not have the 
children fenced off to themselves away from 



the pastor's place. 79 

their parents. This is not necessary, for it 
is easy to provide for all together. The 
difficulty is not great; or if it is, it only 
proves that our whole arrangement for pub- 
lic worship is wrong. 

Again: no special effort is made in the 
average sermon for the instruction of chil- 
dren. If present, they are utterly ignored. 
The preacher addresses himself exclusively 
to the adults, and too often ''shoots too 
high" for them. It only wearies and dis- 
gusts the little ones to be required to sit on 
uncomfortable seats for an hour, sometimes 
longer, and listen, or try to listen, to what 
is as incomprehensible to them as Greek or 
Chinese. 

Now, cannot something be done to remedy 
this mistake? Cannot our church architects 
devise some way of seating children comfort- 
ably in the house of God? Surely our 
preachers can " come down," if it is coming 
down, near enough the earth for the chil- 



80 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

dren to hear them. How do our Sunday- 
school teachers manage to make the "Word 
of God intelligible to the young people in 
their classes? Cannot our preachers do as 
well? All the great doctrines of the Eible 
are taught in the Sunday-schools; why can- 
not they be made as plain by the minister 
in the pulpit? Certainly they can. Why 
not then try it? At least, give the children 
five or ten minutes of the morning sermon. 
I have thus dwelt at some length on the 
pastor's place in the Sunday-school, because 
I believe it to be the most important re- 
lation that any man can sustain to the chil- 
dren of the Church, and because it belongs 
to the pastoral office. It is the nexus be- 
tween the Church and the Sunday-school. 
As long as our pastors are faithful in this 
relation our schools will be loyal to the 
Church, and the children will grow up in- 
telligent and useful Christians; the chasm 
that has existed between the Church and the 



THE PASTOR'S PLACE. 81 

Sunday-school will disappear, and the two 
will become one. The secular features that 
have characterized the Sunday-school at cer- 
tain periods of its history, and that still 
exist to some extent, will give place to a 
higher and more evangelical type of charac- 
ter and work. " Let the preachers faithfully 
enforce upon parents and Sunday-school 
teachers the great importance of instructing 
children in the doctrines and duties of our 
holy religion. 1 ' (Discipline, paragraph 112.) 
Let parents, preachers, and teachers seek 
with all diligence to bring the children to 
Christ, and all will be well with our Sunday- 
schools and the Church. 
6 



CH/VPTEF^ III. 
THE SUPERINTENDENT. 



The superintendent of a Sunday-school is 
the pastor's first assistant, and it is there- 
fore right and proper that he should be either 
appointed or nominated by the pastor. Ac- 
cording to the law of our Church he is elected 
by the Quarterly Conference on nomination 
by the pastor. This places him in his proper 
relation to the pastor and to the Church, the 
Quarterly Conference being a "Board of 
Managers," having supervision of all the 
Sunday-schools within the bounds of the 
circuit or station. The election of superin- 
tendent takes place at the fourth Quarterly 
Conference, and therefore gives the preacher 
in charge time to become acquainted with 
his people and to know who among them is 
best qualified to fill the position. The nomi- 
(82) 



THE SUPERINTENDENT. 83 

nation should be made with great care, and 
independently of all personal feelings or con- 
siderations, except the one conviction that the 
man selected is the best one for the place. 
A Sunday-school superintendent should be, 

1. A Christian man. Not merely a mem- 
ber of the Church, but a man of decided 
Christian character, without reproach among 
his neighbors, and of good understanding in 
the things of God, active and earnest in 
doing good. He should be an intelligent 
student of the Bible, "a scribe well instructed 
in the law." He should also be a man of 
simple faith, who believes the Scriptures to 
be a revelation from God; that they "con- 
tain all things necessary to salvation j so that 
whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be 
proved thereby, is not to be required of any 
man." He should be, 

2. A man of good sense, not a "crank," "not 
a novice, lest he be lifted up with pride," but 
a man of sound understanding, who has the 



84 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

"gift of management," and can superintend 
other things as well as a Sunday-school; who 
knows how to serve as well as how to com- 
mand. He should not be "wise in his own 
eyes," filled with the vain conceit that what 
he happens not to know is not worth know- 
ing. He should be "ready to learn, and apt 
to teach." He should be, 

3. A man quiet in manner, firm, and consist- 
ent. A nervous, fussy man demoralizes the 
school, and so weakens his authority as 
superintendent that, whatever good quali- 
ties he may otherwise possess, he cannot 
govern the children. One who governs well 
must know his own mind and what he ought 
to do, and then move steadily forward to its 
accomplishment. If he is calm and self- 
possessed, the school will be quiet and or- 
derly; but if he is noisy and fickle, good 
order is impossible. Unless a man can gov- 
ern himself he cannot govern others. 

4. He should be a good judge of human 



THE SUPERINTENDENT. 85 

nature, for he will find enough of it in a 
Sunday-school, both in the teachers and in 
the scholars. "Without this endowment he 
will mix things in his school, putting the 
wrong teacher over a class, and putting the 
wrong pupils together in a class. The super- 
intendent should know every teacher and 
pupil in his school, and know how to classify 
and adjust them one to another. 

5. A good superintendent is not only a 
diligent student of the Bible generally, but 
he keeps himself well informed as to the 
current lessons, making a careful study of 
the lesson for the next Sunday during the 
week. He should be well posted as to the 
best methods of teaching a class, as well as 
to the best methods of governing the school. 
He should be kind and courteous to his 
teachers, and to all the school. The man 
who likes to be "a boss" is unfit for superin- 
tendent of a Sunday-school. 

6. The superintendent should treat his 



86 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

pastor with the respect and deference due 
to a superior. While the general manage- 
ment of the school is in his hands, it gives 
him no right to ignore or discount the pas- 
tor's place in the school, or to assume the 
functions of an autocrat. Harmony between 
the pastor and the superintendent is neces- 
sary to the successful management of the 
school, and should therefore be cultivated by 
mutual respect and consideration. The su- 
perintendent should consult with his pastor 
in all matters affecting the welfare of the 
school, and in no case should he say or do 
anything calculated to lessen the influence 
of the pastor with his people, especially 
with the children of the Sunday-school. 



CH/cPTEf^ IV. 

MANAGEMENT. 



The management of the Sunday-school is 
in the hands of the superintendent, and 
for its government and successful operation 
he is chiefly responsible. He should there- 
fore be a competent " business manager." In 
order to succeed he must have system — a 
working plan. This plan must be adjusted 
to the object or end of Sunday-school work 
— the thing to be accomplished — which is 
the religious instruction and salvation of the 
children and young people in the school. 
This places the superintendent in the relation 
of a sub-pastor, " having the care of souls," 
and all his plans and methods of government 
and management should be devised and car- 
ried out with this end in view. He thus 
cooperates with his pastor in the highest 

(87) 



88 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

and holiest functions of the ministerial office 
— the salvation of souls. 

" Order is heaven's first law," and must be 
the first law in all well-conducted Sunday- 
schools. The man who cannot maintain 
order in his school wants the first qualifica- 
tion for the office of superintendent. This 
he cannot do by talking or ringing a bell. 
The more he talks the less order he will 
have; the more he rings the bell the more 
confusion he will have. He must command 
the respect of the school, or he can do nothing 
except to retire and let some one take charge 
whom the children will respect. How to 
command respect I shall not discuss, leaving 
it to the good sense of those immediately 
concerned to find out. 

A judicious classification of the pupils in a 
Sunday-school is necessary in order to har- 
mony and efficiency, both in management 
and teaching. The usual scheme observed 
in our best schools is about as follows: 



MANAGEMENT. 89 

1. The primary or infant class, composed 
of the small children who cannot read and, 
say, from five to eight years of age. 

2. The intermediate class, made up of pupils 
from eight to ten years of age. 

3. The junior class, from ten to fifteen 
years of age. 

4. The senior class, composed of the older 
pupils who prefer to be taught by lec- 
tures and not according to the catechetical 
method. 

To these grades of classification may be 
added the Bible class, consisting of adults 
who wish to read and study the Bible in a 
free and social manner. Other classes may 
be organized according to material in the 
school, and the judgment of the pastor and 
superintendent. In some schools the pastor 
teaches a class, but this interferes with his 
supervision of the whole school, and with 
that general intercourse with the superin- 
tendent and teachers which a wise pastor 



90 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

knows how to improve. Besides, it adds to 
the pastor's labors of the Sabbath, which are 
usually quite heavy enough, especially in 
city charges. 

It is not wise to encumber an executive 
officer with too many instructions or sugges- 
tions. Much must be left to his own com- 
mon sense and to the peculiar circumstances 
of his position. If he has no invention, no 
resources of his own, he is unfit for anything 
above a subordinate service. I shall not, 
therefore, further elaborate the duties of su- 
perintendents, but add some practical sug- 
gestions which have occurred to me in the 
course of an experience of nearly twenty 
years in professional Sunday-school work. 

1. The most successful Sunday-school su- 
perintendents I have known were mild enthu- 
siasts. They were not fanatics or hobbyists, 
but men of intense zeal and energy. They 
loved their work, loved the children, loved 
the Word of God, and above all loved the 



MANAGEMENT. 91 

Son of God with a simple, childlike fervor. 
Their religious experience was personal, indi- 
vidual, not conventional. They realized that 
the words of Christ " are life, and they are 
spirit." This gave to their Christian charac- 
ter a unity and simplicity that attracted to 
them children and young people, and made 
them the friends and leaders of all. They 
were gentle, affable, and sympathetic, quiet 
and affectionate in manner. 

2. The superintendent should be a regular 
attendant upon all the public services of the 
Church, and thus be an example to the 
school. He need not exhort the children to 
attend Church if he stays away himself, or 
is merely an indifferent spectator at preach- 
ing and other public services. He must 
practice what he preaches if he would lead 
the children. They are close observers and 
keen critics. The superintendent should an- 
nounce all the services of the Church in 
the school, and thus impress the children 



92 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

with the importance of attending public 
worship. 

3. The opening and closing exercises of 
the school should be conducted in a reverent 
and orderly manner. The whole school 
should join in singing and in responsive read- 
ing; it is not only respectful, but as an act 
of divine worship it is binding upon every 
one. Teachers ought to be an example to 
their classes in this matter. 

4. The superintendent should not only 
know all his teachers, but if possible all the 
pupils in his school. It is well to have a 
pocket record in which to keep the full roll 
of the school. He ought to visit, as he has 
opportunity, all of the teachers and schol- 
ars, and especially those that are sick or in 
trouble. 

But there is no end to the suggestions 
that might be given. A sensible superin- 
tendent will follow his own convictions of 
what is best to do. 



MANAGEMENT. 93 

Before passing to another subject, I would 
like to say a word in behalf of the faith- 
ful Sunday-school superintendent. Like the 
pastor, he has many burdens to bear, and is 
often the victim of ignorant and unjust criti- 
cism by those for whose good he labors. If 
the school is not prosperous, no matter what 
the cause, the superintendent must bear the 
blame. ~No one may be able to show in 
what respect he is at fault, yet he is held 
responsible for want of success. Sometimes 
discontent with the management of the 
school is fomented by some conceited, ambi- 
tious man who wants to occupy the superin- 
tendent's place. 

Of course I have no words of apology for 
a man who is not faithful in such an office, 
but the superintendent who does all he can 
to improve the mental and religious charac- 
ter of the children and young people under 
his care, and that "without fee or reward," 
is entitled to our respect and gratitude. He 



94 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

is a benefactor, and should be honored as 
such. Many a good man has toiled faithful- 
ly for years in this office without recognition 
or encouragement. Let us be just if we can- 
not be generous. There is no mercenary ele- 
ment in honest Sunday-school work. 



CH/cf TEF^ V. 
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHER. 



What are the qualifications of a good 
Sunday-school teacher ? 

In order to bring the answer to this ques- 
tion within the limits assigned to it in this 
treatise, it will be necessary to generalize, 
and group many particulars under a few 
general heads. 

1. The Sunday-school teacher should be a 
sincere Christian. There are good Christians 
who could not be, for sufficient reasons, good 
teachers; but there are no good teachers, in 
the sense in which the phrase is here used, 
who are not good Christians. An uncon- 
verted person is incapable of discharging 
the functions inherent in the Sunday-school 
teacher's office. The end proposed is the 
salvation of souls; but how can one appre- 

(95) 



96 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 

ciate the worth of another person's soul who 
has not learned to value his own soul? How 
can he lead his pupils to Christ? Can the 
blind lead the blind? There is therefore an 
evident incongruity in employing ungodly 
persons as teachers in a Sunday-school. Nor 
are careless, worldly-minded professors of 
religion much better, for their frivolities and 
inconsistencies will counteract all the moral 
influence they might otherwise exert upon 
their pupils. We might as well employ such 
persons to preach in our pulpits, for teaching 
is a form of preaching, and in either case the 
character of the teacher has much to do 
with the teaching. 

The Sunday-school teacher should there- 
fore be an earnest, consistent Christian, 
whose whole life is in harmony with the 
principles of the gospel, and whose character 
and conduct give emphasis to his teaching. 
If his pupils do not believe in him, neither 
will they believe what he teaches. Children 



THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHER. 97 

are close observers of character. They deal 
with the concrete, not with the abstract. 
With them "actions speak louder than 
words." 

2. The Sunday-school teacher should be intel- 
ligent. Not every one who is pious, earnest, 
and active as a Christian can make a good 
Sunday school teacher; he must also " be 
apt to teach." "Not a novice, lest being 
lifted up with pride " he fall into foolish con- 
ceits concerning himself and his work. He 
must be " nourished up in the words of faith, 
and of good doctrine " — must " give attend- 
ance to reading," and be able, "like a good 
householder, to bring out of his treasure 
things new and old." How can he teach 
others unless he himself has been taught? 
How can he be " a guide to the blind, a light 
to them which are in darkness, an instructor 
of the foolish, a teacher of babes?" Our 
Sunday-schools will never be what they 
ought to be until the teachers are fully 



98 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

impressed with the dignity and responsibili- 
ties of their office and work; until they fully 
equip themselves for the position. 

3. The Sunday-school teacher should be 
gentle and patient. Love is the parent of, 
gentleness, and those who teach the young 
successfully must love their pupils, and they 
must manifest their love in a just and gentle 
manner. St. Paul says to the Thessalonians: 
" We were gentle among you, even as a nurse 
cherisheth her children ; " and " ye know how 
we exhorted and comforted and charged 
every one of you, as a father doth his 
children." Again he says: "I Paul my- 
self beseech you, by the meekness and 
gentleness of Christ." This is the temper 
and spirit that ought to animate every 
teacher. It is cruel and unwise to say of 
a boy, before his class, that he is " stupid," 
or he is " good for nothing." Most children 
need encouragement to stimulate them to do 
their best. Children will love us if we love 



THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHER. 99 

them, and it is then easy to teach them. If 
a teacher respects his pupils, they will re- 
spect him and his authority over them. 
There may be exceptions to this statement, 
but they are not such cases as can be cured 
by severity, by harsh treatment. There 
will be provocations and discouragements, 
but gentleness, patience, and perseverance 
will in time overcome all. " The bad boy " 
is everywhere, but he is seldom "all bad." 
He has a soft place somewhere in his nature ; 
seek for it and you will find it, and then he 
is "yours forever." Love is the great moral 
force of the universe, and he who loves most 
conquers all things — even bad boys. 



CH^fTEF^ VI. 
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. 



BE punctual. Punctuality is a virtue 
anywhere and everywhere, but espe- 
cially in one who has to do with young 
poople. They are forming habits for life, 
and their services in any calling will depend 
materially upon the formation of good hab- 
its. A man of well-regulated conscience 
will practice any amount of self-denial 
rather than violate a promise, and he under- 
stands an agreement to be present in any 
place at a given hour to be in the nature of 
a formal promise. He must therefore keep 
his engagement punctually, or he is guilty 
of violating his word, a serious offense 
against good morals. Whatever right we 
may be supposed to possess in regard to our 
own time, we certainly have no right to 
deprive another person of his time, or to 
(100) 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. 101 

interfere with the orderly management of 
the school. Nor is it a small matter to set a 
bad example as the tardy teacher does. 
Therefore be punctual. 

If you are compelled to be absent from 
the school, be sure to let your superintend- 
ent know it in time to provide a teacher for 
your class. It is a great annoyance to a 
superintendent to have to pick up a teacher 
on the spur of the moment to supply the 
place of a regular teacher who has failed to 
give notice of his intended absence. It is 
not just to the class, or the substitute teacher, 
or the superintendent. Such conduct will 
soon demoralize a class. 

Study your class as carefully as you do 
the lesson, for your success as a teacher will 
depend materially upon your knowledge of 
the temperament, intellectual grade, educa- 
tional advantages, and the home influences 



102 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

of each pupil under your care. You cannot 
mass the members of your class and treat 
them all precisely alike in every particular, 
for they are not alike: some are bright and 
responsive, some are dull and sluggish. One 
is sympathetic and emotional, easily im- 
pressed by moral or religious truths; anoth- 
er is cold and reticent, or sensitive and retir- 
ing. One is quick and self-confident, always 
ready to give an answer to any question, 
another is timid and easily embarrassed. 
Treat every one with kindness and with ap- 
preciative attention, according to his natural 
temperament and character. 

.Remember, your work as a Sunday-school 
teacher is not to entertain but instruct your 
class. You ought to have ever present in 
your thought the one great object of your 
work — namely, to lead the children to 
Christ. Any other object is below the dig- 
nity of your office and work as a religious 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. 103 

teacher. To amuse, to entertain merely, is 
not the business of your calling. Much 
teaching in Sunday-school is frivolous and 
foolish. Christ is the great, ideal teacher; 
follow his example. He was grave without 
being gloomy, cheerful without being light. 

Pray for every member of your class in 
the solitude of your closet. Pray for them 
by name. Speak to each one quietly and 
earnestly about his soul's salvation. When 
you meet one of your pupils, recognize him. 
Speak kindly to him whenever you have op- 
portunity. Don't seem to be one person in 
the Sunday-school room and another person 
on the street. When any of your pupils are 
sick, visit them or send them some little 
token of love that they may know you re- 
member them. Yisit them, if possible. 
When they leave to go away to school, or go 
into business, write to them. Eemember 
them on their birthdays, if you can. Many 



104 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 

a boy has been saved from ruin by the kind 
attentions of his Sunday-school teacher. 

Begin the preparation of the Sunday- 
school lesson as early in the week as your 
circumstances will permit. It is well, if you 
can, to begin immediately after you return 
home on Sunday, and employ every spare 
moment during the week. Study carefully 
first the text of the lesson, and then arrange 
the salient points for teaching, and fill up as 
you are able. Use the best helps you can 
obtain. Pray much over the lesson. Ask 
God to help you, and you will succeed. 

Don't scold your class. Don't look wor- 
ried with them. Don't criticise the manage- 
ment of the school before your class. Don't 
speak slightingly of your pastor. Don't 
gossip with your class. 



CHAPTER Vlf. 

THE SECRETARY. 

The office of secretary and the character 
of service it requires make it necessary 
that the person who fills the office be a good 
scribe, for he is expected to keep a record of 
the school and its work. He should keep in 
neat form a complete roll of all the officers, 
teachers, and scholars; prepare class books, 
with the names of teachers and scholars 
written in them; the record of each school 
session—the number present, teachers and 
scholars absent, visitors present, and any 
special action or service in the school. He is 
expected to furnish the pastor an accurate 
quarterly report of the condition of the 
school, to be presented to the Quarterly Con- 
ference. He is also charged with the corre- 
spondence of the school, and should therefore 
be a person of some education. 

(105) 



106 THE SUNDAY- SCHOOL. 

THE LIBRARIAN. 

The office of librarian is an important posi- 
tion in a Sunday-school, and one that a care- 
less or inefficient person cannot fill with cred- 
it to himself or with satisfaction to the school. 
He is the Custodian and manager of the most 
valuable part of a Sunday-school outfit — its 
books, periodicals, maps, charts, blackboards, 
etc. He comes in direct contact with the su- 
perintendent and teachers, and should be cour- 
teous, prompt, and kind. It is no place for 
an ill-tempered, cross, and unaccommodating 
boor. He should be quiet and respectful in 
manner, yet firm in his dealings with all who 
have anything to do with the books, else his 
department will be demoralized and his libra- 
ry scattered to the winds. He ought to keep 
himself informed as to the character and con- 
tents of all the books in his care, and be able 
to advise in the selections made by teachers 
for their pupils. It is important also that he 
have a judicious system of classifying and 
filing the books in his library, so that he can 



THE TREASURER. 107 

ascertain in a moment what books are out, 
and where they are. His room, bookcases, 
periodical files, and all connected with his de- 
partment, should be kept clean and in good 
order, Every " nice young man" or " pretty 
young woman " will not make a good librari- 
an. Some persons are adapted to the posi- 
tion and work, and some are not. Happy is 
the school that has an efficient librarian! 



THE TREASURER. 

The duties of this officer are simple and 
well understood. The treasurer receives 
and is required to keep the funds of the 
school in safe deposit, and to pay them out 
as directed by the school on the order of the 
superintendent. 

1 have now discussed the qualifications 
and duties of the several officers of a well- 
organized Sunday-school — viz., pastor, super- 
intendent, teachers, secretary, librarian, and 
treasurer. I have also indicated as briefly 
as I could the general management and 
work of a Sunday-school. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL MUSIC. 

tit othing connected with the modern Sun- 
I 1 day-school has been more severely criti- 
cised than the music, and perhaps, in a 
measure, justly. It is to be regretted that a 
new style of music and a doggerel hymnol- 
ogy have been substituted in the Sunday- 
school for the standard hymns and tunes of 
the Church. Kothing has tended more than 
this to separate the Church and Sunday- 
school. Singing is the only part of divine 
worship in which all the congregation can 
join in those churches that have not a 
liturgy. Our children are silent in the con- 
gregation because they have not been taught 
to sing the tunes used in public worship. 
They know nothing but the music used in 
the Sunday-school room, and when they 
enter the church they are dumb, because of 
their ignorance. They do not like the grand 
(108) 



THE CATECHISM IN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 109 

old hymns that have been the joy and in- 
spiration of generations, because their taste 
has been vitiated by the "doggerel ditties" 
of the Sunday-school room. We have noble 
hymns well suited to the Sunday school; why 
not use them? The children can learn to 
sing them, and will learn to love them. A 
judicious mixture of Church and. Sunday- 
school music would perhaps meet the de- 
mands of both school and congregation; 
would improve the singing in both, and 
bring parents and children together in intel- 
ligent and harmonious worship. There are 
many beautiful and inspiring melodies in our 
Sunday-school song books, well adapted to 
the adult congregation. Let us use them. 
Preserve the wheat, throw away the chaff. 



THE CATECHISM IN SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

The catechism has suffered in modern 
times the same treatment by our Sunday- 
schools that the Church music has — viz., 



110 THE SUNDAY- SCHOOL. 

has been greatly neglected, if not entirely 
rejected. Why is this so? Have the "les- 
son helps," with their catechetical forms, 
supplanted the catechism? or, have we in- 
vented some wiser and better method of 
imparting religious knowledge to the young? 
If "a more excellent way" has been discov- 
ered, I have not seen it. The catechism is 
the oldest, the shortest, and the easiest 
method of teaching Bible truth to children 
known among men. Why abandon it ? 
What have we in its place? We have a 
multitude of catechisms provided by our 
Church, in which Bible history, doctrine, 
Christian experience, duty, and discipline 
are taught; why not use them? 



STATISTICS. 

Our Church Sunday-school statistics are re- 
vised annually, and the general statistics of 
the Sunday-school world every three years. 
The appended table represents the Inter- 



STATISTICS. Ill 

national Statistics of the Sunday-school 
World. It was prepared for the Second 
World's Sunday-school Convention of 1893, 
by E. Payson Porter, of New York, and Mr. 
Edward Towers, of London, and is the latest 
authentic report we have. 

The following are the Sunday-school sta- 
tistics of the M. E. Church, South, for 1893. 
Sunday schools, 13,363 ; Sunday-school teach- 
ers, 95,204; Sunday-school scholars, 765,286; 
total teachers and scholars, 860,490. Our 
Sunday-school statistics strangely vary from 
year to year. One year a Conference will 
jeport a large decrease in scholars and an 
increase in teachers, and perhaps the next 
year reverse the order. The reports show 
a growth in our Sunday-school work, but 
after an irregular manner. 



112 



THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 



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